1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a recliner assembly used in automobile seats for adjustment of a seat back relative to a seat cushion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automotive vehicles include vehicle seat assemblies for supporting a seated occupant in the vehicle. A typical seat assembly includes a generally horizontal seat cushion and a seat back pivotally connected to the seat cushion by a recliner assembly. The recliner assembly provides for adjustment of the seat back relative to the seat cushion between a plurality of reclined positions. In addition, the recliner assembly may also allow the seat back to be folded flat against the seat cushion.
Disc recliners are well known in the vehicle seating art and are commonly used to pivotally connect a seat back to a seat cushion. Disc recliners commonly include a fixed cylindrical inner disc fixedly secured to the seat cushion and an cylindrical outer disc fixedly secured to the seat back and rotatably coupled to the inner disc. Disc recliners further include a locking mechanism for maintaining the angular position of the seat back relative to the seat cushion. The locking mechanism typically comprises an annular rim of teeth on the outer disc and several pawls each with a plurality of teeth. The pawls are moveable in a radial direction between a locked position and an unlocked position. With the pawls in the locked position, the teeth on the pawls are interlocked with the rim of teeth on the outer disc, thus locking the angular position of the seat back relative to the seat cushion. When the pawls are moved from the locked position to the unlocked position, the teeth on the pawls are no longer interlocked with the rim of teeth on the outer disc, thus allowing adjustment of the seat back relative to the seat cushion.
It is often desirable to have a vehicle seat with a seat back that is moveable from any of a plurality of reclined positions to a forwardly folded-flat position for extending the cargo carrying capacity of the vehicle. Disc recliners known in the art may be adapted to allow the seat back to be forwardly adjusted to the folded-flat position. However, such adaptations generally result in limiting the range in which the seat back is allowed to recline. Further, it is often desirable to have a vehicle seat with a seat back that is moveable from the forwardly folded-flat position back to a reclined position as determined just prior to placing the seat back in the forwardly folded-flat position. However, disc recliners known in the art typically require the seat back to be returned from the forwardly folded-flat position back to a default, generally upright, position.
Accordingly, there is a need for a seat assembly having a recliner assembly that allows pivotal adjustment of a seat back relative to a seat cushion between a plurality of reclined positions and allows the seat back to be adjusted from any one of the plurality of reclined positions to a fowardly folded-flat position, and from the forwardly folded-flat position to a reclined position as determined at the time the seat back is moved to the forwardly folded-flat position.